That’s the same tired story cable companies have used for years to justify price increases, driving hordes of customers away in search of cheaper entertainment options. It was only a matter of time before the streaming services followed suit.

Sony also said it will increase Playstation Vue prices by $5 for all its packages, which include ESPN, by July 31. Prices will start at $45. Dish’s Sling TV Orange package, which also includes ESPN, increased to $25 a month in late June. Google increased YouTube TV to $40 a month in March. Sports-centric FuboTV upped its price to $45 earlier this year.

After its June acquisition of Time Warner for $85.4 billion, AT&T announced a $5 increase for DirectTV Now on July 26. Packages will start at $40. The No. 2 carrier also immediately increased a wireless administrative fee from 76 cents to $1.99 and upped the price of its Mobile Share plans. So much for the blockbuster acquisition not hurting consumers. The Justice Department is appealing the mega merger.

After the Time Warner deal closed, AT&T quickly debuted Watch TV for $15 a month (try it for free at ATTWatchTV.com) and began bundling the service for free with unlimited data, talk and text plans, now called Unlimited & More. Plans start at $70 a month for one line or $160 a month for four lines with auto pay. Customers who subscribe to unlimited plans don’t have to opt in to get Watch TV. Authorized users can go to attwatchtv.com/verify to check eligibility.

Watch TV focuses on entertainment. The lineup includes A&E, History, Hallmark, CNN and other Turner Broadcasting System channels such as TNT, TBS, Turner Classic Movies and Cartoon Network, among others.

The merger also cleared the way for AT&T to control and distribute Time Warner content, which includes HBO and the popular show "Game of Thrones," Warner Bros. studio, DC Entertainment, New Line Cinema and sports programming.

Like Watch TV, another cheaper player has emerged. Cord cutters can now stream Philo, which offers 40 channels of live TV for $16 a month. The service streams on Apple and Amazon Fire devices. The lineup includes BBC World News, A&E, AMC, Comedy Central, History, Lifetime, Travel and Food, among others. For an extra $4, you get nine more channels including Nicktoons, Cooking and Disney Family. Try it for free for seven days at Philo.com.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Comcast dropped its bid to buy 21st Century Fox, which will clear the way for Disney, the No. 1 studio at the box office with the Marvel franchises, to acquire the company for about $71 billion. Comcast says it will now pursue the European pay TV service Sky for $34 billion.

It’s not hard to predict how all these corporate titans gobbling each other up will affect the price of entertainment and media in the future.

As always, the less competition there is, the more consumers will pay.

The Cheesecake Factory is debuting Very Cherry Ghirardelli Chocolate Cheesecake for National Cheesecake Day.

The Cheesecake Factory is debuting Very Cherry Ghirardelli Chocolate Cheesecake for National Cheesecake Day. (Handout)

Cheap cheesecake coming up

Get ready for half-priced slices at The Cheesecake Factory at the end of the month to celebrate National Cheesecake Day.

Get the deal when dining in restaurants on July 30. No coupon is necessary, but the offer is one slice per guest.

Take the opportunity to try the chain's two new flavors debuting for the occasion: Very Cherry Ghirardelli Chocolate Cheesecake and Cinnabon Cinnamon Swirl Cheesecake. Or, pick a slice from 30 other flavors on the dessert menu.

During the promotion, the chain will donate a quarter for each slice sold to the nonprofit hunger organization Feeding America. The Cheesecake Factory has donated more than $4.2 million to the charity since the promotion started in 2008, according to a news release.